Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Metroid or Pokémon, Nintendo does. They and all of their characters are the property of Nintendo (for Metroid and Pokémon), Game Freak and Satoshi Tajiri (for Pokémon), and their respective creators.
Metroid: Dread
Chapter 1:
Samus sat inside her chamber in Galactic Federation Headquarters and stared up at the ceiling. The chamber was not officially a jail cell, but it had the feeling of such. She was clad in an orange jumpsuit, similar to those worn by prisoners. However, she had not officially been arrested for any crime, yet. Still, in the two months since the destruction of the Biologic Space Labs, or BSL, research facility over SR388, the planet, and both the Metroid Breeding Project and the X Parasites, the Galactic Federation had not been idle. In the intervening months, the Federation had launched probes into the destruction of BSL research facility and the planet SR388. In addition, they had launched investigations to see if any X Parasites had somehow managed to escape the destruction of the research station or the planet. So far, their results had come up negative, much to the relief of Samus Aran, Adam Malkovich, and several prominent members of the Galactic Federation Council, not the least of which was Councilman Colin Williams of Earth, and U-Mos, a representative of the Luminoth, a species that resembles bipedal moths that stand at around eight feet in height, and have thin bodies and wings. Despite their outward appearance, they are quite formidable in combat and have incredible psychic powers, particularly in the realm of telekinesis and energy projection.
The Chairman of The Galactic Federation Council, Elric, a Tolkienesque elf standing at over seven feet in height with brown hair and green eyes had been livid at the recent revelations and depositions that had been given to the Council. He had thought that the specters of Project Metroid Warriors and Project Hunter were behind him. Now with the research facility on Biologic Space Labs having been exposed as having cloned and bred Metroids, and the plans to capture and study the X Parasites, his political opponents, as well as others who were neutral, and even some allies, were quickly pointing out the dangers of trying to harness the X Parasites that both Samus Aran and Adam Malkovich had outlined in their depositions to the Council. He had, of course, objected to the testimony of Samus and Adam, saying that they were just trying to save their own skins and that the threat of the X Parasites was not as great as had initially been stated. He knew that some on the Council would believe him, while others would not. Yet others simply did not care. They were just looking for an excuse to impeach him and throw him out of office. Councilman Williams' investigation into his involvement in the illegal projects being conducted on the Bottle Ship and Research Facility 777, as well as his involvement in the assassination of former Chairman Keaton, had not yet concluded, but he knew that once it had, he would likely be found guilty. His greatest fear was what would happen then. However, he would cross that bridge when he came to it. He still had a lot of dirt on many members of the Federation Council, as well as on Vice-Chairman Cyrus. He knew that a lot of people would rather silence him than let that information get out so he could at least try to get some leniency granted to him and receive a sentence other than death.
He had hoped that the fact that Samus and Adam had destroyed the Biologic Space Labs research facility, along with SR388, would have taken heat off of the investigation of him. Instead, it had only turned up the heat since Adam had stated that the man who was communicating with him on the station was none other than the Chairman of Defense, Rickard Lorenz, one of Elric's most trusted aides and advisors, and the man he, himself, had hand-picked for the position. Even worse was the fact that Lorenz had said that he merely did so under direct orders from Elric. What was supposed to have been a way for Elric to save face had instead turned into one gigantic screw up. Still, Samus did not know how the Council would rule in the tribunal that they had held over her and Adam's decision to destroy the BSL research facility and SR388, along with the Metroid Breeding Program and X Parasites.
Samus's questions would soon be answered, for the door to her quarters soon opened and two Galactic Federation Marines entered the room. "Pardon the intrusion, Miss Aran, but you have been summoned to appear before the Galactic Federation Council. A decision in the case of the destruction of Biologic Space Labs and the X Parasites and the Metroid Breeding Program has been made."
Samus sighed and rose from her pallet. She followed the two Marines out of her "quarters" and walked down the long corridor to the Council Chamber. Along the way, she saw a number of Army Troopers and Marines standing guard around the various chambers and offices of the Council members. There were also many Army Troopers and Marines on patrol throughout the hallways. The Army Troopers each glanced at her and warily passed her, some of them beginning to raise their weapons on her. The Marines, however, behaved far differently. Some of them almost saluted her as she was led past them. She sighed at the sight. There were already divisions in the Galactic Federation, and it seemed as if these divisions had now reached the military.
It was not long before the group reached the Council Chamber. A large set of doors stood before Samus and the Marines. She had seen these doors before, when she had given her reports to the Galactic Federation Council after her first mission to Zebes, the Phazon Crisis, and during her deposition after the barely averted disasters onboard Research Facility 777 and the BSL research facility. The Marines stepped forward and pushed the massive doors open and Samus could see the entire Galactic Federation Council assembled in the chamber. Samus then entered the chamber and after she had entered, the doors clanked shut behind her.
The large interior of the Galactic Federation Council Chamber consisted mostly of seats in a stadium-like amphitheater. Sitting in each of the seats were the representatives of each of the members of the Galactic Federation, as well as some of the more important colonies of various members. Thousands of people sat, surrounding Samus as she walked down an aisle that led to the center of the chamber. She soon arrived at the center of the chamber and she found two chairs. Sitting on in one of the chairs was the box-like computer unit with a single robotic eye from her new gunship that housed the mind and soul of Commander General Adam Malkovich. Samus took the seat next to the computer and looked over at the unit. She looked up and saw the familiar faces of the members of the Galactic Federation Council, particularly Councilman Colin Williams of Earth, as well as Chairman Elric and Vice-Chairman Cyrus Mann, a human male with spiky bluish hair. He had a scowl plastered on his face, but it was not directed at anyone in particular.
"Are you alright, Samus?" Adam's computerized voice asked.
Samus nodded.
A gavel was then pounded and she looked around at the Council. It was then that a reptilian alien stood up and came before the rest of the Council. He looked down at Samus and Adam and said, "Samus Aran, Commander General Adam Malkovich, you have been called before the Galactic Federation Council once again because of the tribunal that we have held with regard to your involvement in the destruction of the Biologic Space Labs research facility over the planet SR388, which is Galactic Federation property, against the orders of the Galactic Federation, as well as having destroyed the Metroid Breeding Program and the eradication of the X Parasites, which certain elements," he made a not so subtle glance over to Chairman Elric, and Chairman of Defense, Rickard Lorenz, "of our government had wanted living specimens for research purposes. After going over all of the evidence presented here, both by the two of you, and by other witnesses, we find that you are not guilty of any wrongdoing. The threat of the X Parasites was truly far greater than anyone here had ever imagined. Your decision to destroy the BSL research facility and SR388 was the right one. You are officially cleared of any and all wrongdoing in this incident. Samus Aran, Commander General Adam Malkovich, you are free to go." The alien, who was acting Speaker of the Council ever since the death of the former Speaker, Chamolos, pounded the gavel once more, signifying an end to the proceedings.
Samus breathed a sigh of relief at the announcement and she could sense Adam doing the same inside his computer. She also gave a soft smile. While she had not known what the outcome would have been, looking back, she found that this was the most politically expedient outcome imaginable, especially when presented with the full data on the X Parasites. Chairman Elric, however, was not pleased with the decision, and he let the Council know his displeasure. "What?" he roared, livid at their decision. "That rogue bounty hunter destroyed a Galactic Federation station and two Federation projects!" he yelled, jabbing his finger at Samus. "The Metroid Breeding Program was developed for peaceful purposes…"
"The Metroid Breeding Program had been destroyed by the SA-X, not Samus Aran, Mister Chairman," Colin Williams interjected. "Samus was also forced to destroy the BSL station because the X infestation was out of control and would almost certainly have spread."
"With enough troops, we could have retaken the research facility and captured some of the X and used them for the benefit of the galaxy," Elric countered.
"We have already gone over this, Chairman," another voice sounded. It came from a human female with short red hair. Samus recognized her as Madeline Powell, Mars's representative on the Galactic Federation Council. "The X Parasites were far too dangerous for any capture attempt to be feasible, even with Samus's cooperation. There had been no less than ten SA-Xs at the time of the station's destruction." Madeline then paused before continuing, "Any capture attempt would have cost countless lives, and risked opening the entire galaxy to the threat of the X. We already know what bioweapons and unknown organisms can do to ill thought out plans. Look at what happened on the Bottle Ship and Research Facility Seven-Seven-Seven."
Elric cringed at the mention of those two incidents. All of Platoon 07 had been lost on the Bottle Ship and even worse losses had occurred on Research Facility 777. The Federation had lost an entire troopship during that incident along with all of its equipment, as well as nearly all of its complement, save for the transport, G.F.S. Hermes and the men and women of the re-form Platoon 07 under the command of Captain Anthony Higgs. That was a massive black mark on his reign as Chairman of the Galactic Federation Council. Add to that the near disaster that was barely averted by the actions of Samus Aran and Adam Malkovich, when they prevented the disaster on Research Facility 777 from spreading out to the entire Federation, and it was clear why many in the military who knew of these events had sided with Samus and Adam in their decision to wipe out the X Parasites, no matter the cost. As Samus's stock rose, however, Elric's fell. He knew that things were getting desperate. With the accusations of him having been involved in the assassination of Chairman Keaton and now having been exposed as having commissioned and being heavily involved in the bioweapons projects on the Bottle Ship and Research Facility 777, Elric knew that he had to step up his timetable. If he did not do something soon, he knew that Councilman Williams, as well as others would either impeach him and later find him guilty of violating numerous Federation laws, not the least of which was the murder of Chairman Keaton.
Elric soon sat back down and barked, "Fine. Do whatever you want with Samus. Let her go if it makes you all feel better. But don't doubt for a second the only reason you're exonerating her of any wrongdoing is because of the political backlash that would result if you didn't. If you had a spine in any of your bodies, you would have found her guilty of something, even if it were merely disobeying a direct order given by a member of the Galactic Federation. After all, last time I heard, it was Samus who worked for the Galactic Federation, not the Galactic Federation who worked for Samus."
Samus began to look concerned now. She knew that she was not in danger from the Federation, but she was feeling more concern for the Federation, itself. She felt as if she should have expected this harsh rhetoric to come from Elric, given the trouble he was currently in. The question she had was how would the Federation Council respond to this. She knew some members of the Council did, in fact, vote their conscience on this, but others did so merely to be politically expedient, as Elric had said in his tirade. The question would be what would happen if she had to do something like she did on BSL again, only there was no one to know the true threat of whatever crisis was just barely averted. What would happen then? She was also concerned since she had been doing some more research on the Federation and its laws and had found that Elric and the Council, particularly members whose planets were closer to the core of the galaxy, were voting to consolidate power to the Council, and taking away the autonomy that the individual member planets of the Galactic Federation had enjoyed. It had been the reason that Earth had recently nearly seceded from the Federation twice, with Earth only staying due to concessions being made to Earth and its colonies, both those directly affiliated with Earth and those who were independent of the Mother World, as some humans had taken to calling Earth. She made a note to herself to keep listening to the news, watching it on multiple channels so that she would get the full story of what was happening.
After Elric had finished his speech, he went to leave the Federation Council Chamber. The other members of the Council also rose and filed out of the Chamber. Samus then went over and picked up the computer box that housed the mind and soul of Adam Malkovich and proceeded to exit the chamber, herself.
Once she exited the chamber, before going back to her "guest quarters" to pack up so she could leave, she went over to the external landing platform outside the main building of Galactic Federation Headquarters so she could plug Adam back into the computer of the gunship that the Federation had given her for her mission to the Biologic Space Labs research station. It was a purple ship whose wings snapped in half when landing, in order to function as landing pads. In addition, Samus boarded the ship by standing underneath of it and letting a series of ring beams pick her up and bring her onboard her ship. In addition, her new gunship was designed purely by the Galactic Federation. It had once been a prototype Striker-class Assault Gunship designed to attack capital starships, but Samus's ship was designed to carry more passengers and cargo than weapons. It was still formidable, though, with its twin Power Beam cannons, dual missile launchers, along with a missile bay that held up to six missiles per launcher. The missiles held within were of multiple types from anti-fighter to anti-capital ship grade missiles. Her ship was also outfitted with deflector shields that could withstand numerous strikes from anti-starfighter missiles and beam weapons before collapsing.
After boarding her gunship, she went over to the pilot's station. The console at the station had a large gray square that was missing. Samus placed Adam in the gray square and pushed until she heard a click. She then activated her gunship's computer and the screen lit up. "Is everything okay, Adam? Are you linking alright with the rest of my ship's systems?"
After a few seconds, Adam's mechanized voice responded, "Everything's fine on my end, Samus. No problems here."
Samus then ran a series of diagnostics on her gunship's computer to make certain that everything was okay. That was not merely Adam's personality that she had just reinstalled into her gunship, it was the real mind and soul of her former commanding officer, and a man who she had viewed as a father figure, even after she had left the Galactic Federation military and Police Force. The diagnostics soon came back and Samus read that all systems were functioning perfectly.
With that, Samus set her ship into standby mode and left it, going back to her "guest quarters" for the final time so she could pack up her few belongings and take them with her. After entering her quarters, the first thing she did was to get out of her orange jumpsuit and get into her Neo Zero Suit, a white sleeveless suit that had red markings on the back and on her chest. By merely thinking, or by pressing on the red markings on her chest, she could activate her Omega Fusion Suit, her current armored suit that was the result of extreme alterations to her Power Suit after Federation doctors had surgically removed pieces of her Power Suit from her body after she had been infected by X Parasites while escorting Biologic Space Labs researchers on a mission to SR388. Initially, its appearance was radically different from her normal Power Suit as a result of having Metroid cells injected into her body and taking hold. However, since her completion of the mission to the BSL research facility as well as her absorbing the Core-X of a fallen SA-X, her suit now had its standard orange color, but its form was still noticeably different. For one thing, it had a more organic than metallic look about it, even in its current, "Omega Fusion Suit" form. Second, it had three claw or spike-like protrusions on her free arm that resembled a Metroid's teeth. In addition, it also has three small purple spheres on the back reminiscent of a Metroid's internal nuclei, almost certainly a side-effect of the Metroid Vaccine that had been administered to Samus to cure her X infestation.
Samus then put on a white jacket over the Neo Zero Suit in order to maintain some modesty, but still wanting to have easy access to her Omega Suit should she have need of it. After that, she finished up with her packing. She did not have much else to pack away, only some civilian clothes and a hologram of her and her parents on her third birthday. Her own twenty-seventh birthday was close. She activated the hologram and stared at it mournfully. She wished that her parents could be with her physically to celebrate her next birthday with her, but she knew that they were watching down from Heaven. She then deactivated the hologram and packed it into her suitcase. Once she was finished packing, she took her single suitcase and exited her "guest quarters" for the last time.
Meanwhile, almost ten light-minutes away from Daiban, a small spacecraft, only about thirteen meters in length came out of warp and proceeded to make its way towards the planet. It was a boxy starship that only slightly resembled the regular Space Pirate Transports that were used during the Phazon Crisis. Onboard the ship were five Space Pirate Troopers, dressed in their standard battle armor, and one Elite Space Pirate, sitting in the pilot's seat. The pilot and co-pilot each stared down at their consoles and the Elite Space Pirate reported, "We're at the designated coordinates. Stealth mode is activated. It is highly doubtful that they'll pick us up unless they're using long-range gravitic sensors." Turning to his comrade to his right, he told the co-pilot, "Alright, begin scanning. We need a detailed layout of the defenses of the planet if this plan's gonna work. We'll only get one shot at this."
"Right, sir," the trooper to the Elite's right replied. "Beginning scan now."
The Pirate Trooper then activated the sensors and focused them on the planet and its orbit. Just then, a hologram formed of the planet and its orbital defenses in the middle of the cockpit console that the pilot and co-pilot occupied. Data soon popped up on the data screens at both the pilot and co-pilot's stations. The screens read, Orbital Defensive Complement of Daiban: Three hundred Tartarus-class heavy defense platforms, fifty Olympus-class battleships, one hundred Asgard-class heavy cruisers, two hundred Midgard-class cruisers, three hundred Pixie-class light cruisers, three hundred Griffin-class frigates, and one thousand squadrons of Stiletto-class starfighters; each squadron numbering at least fifteen craft.
The hologram in the center of the console detailed the exact locations of the defense platforms, starships, and starfighter squadrons protecting Daiban. Each class of ship had its own marking, with a single fighter marking representing a whole squadron of fighters. The defenses were spread evenly across the entire planet, given that Daiban was a city world and held in excess of twenty-seven billion people. They could immediately tell that there was no hole in Daiban's defensive net. The only way to launch any surprise attack would be to jump a ship behind the defensive screen and fire off as many troop pods and transports as possible before the ship was shot to pieces by the orbital defenses turning back to face the ship. The pilot and co-pilot both gave whistles after seeing the orbital defenses of Daiban. "Okay, so whoever goes on this mission isn't coming back," the co-pilot commented after a few moments.
A couple Pirate Troopers looked over the shoulders of the pilot and co-pilot and gave whistles that echoed the ones given by the command crew. "Let's hope it's not us after we send this report back to Lord Ridley," one of the Pirate Troopers said, unable to hide his worry that they might be the ones who would "volunteer" for the mission.
"I wouldn't worry too much," the Elite responded, looking back at the two Pirates who had been looking over their shoulders, rather than doing their duties at their assigned posts, "unless you abandon your post because of your curiosity," the Pirate finished. "Besides, we have those new Zebesian Troopers from that secret Federation station in the void that we captured several months ago. Fire a pod or two past their orbital defenses and down to the planet, then we should be able to storm GFHQ and take out their leader, Elric, without a problem. Granted they'll soon die afterwards, but at least they'll be able to die knowing that they dealt a huge blow to the Galactic Federation." He then gave a sigh before saying, "At least, we know that the information we got from the Federation spy is legit. That means that the info we got on the surface defenses is also likely to be accurate, too."
"Let's hope so," the co-pilot echoed in response. "For as you said before, we're only gonna get one shot at this."
The pilot then looked back and bellowed, "Tactical, status! Did the Federation detect us?"
The Pirate at the tactical console glanced down at his data readings and after a few moments, looked up, responding, "Negative, sir. As of yet, we haven't been detected."
"Good," the Elite responded. "Then let's make our report to Lord Ridley."
He then eased the maneuvering thrusters so that their ship would back away from the planet, hopefully unseen. The stealth systems were the best of any ship, short of a vessel with an actual cloaking device, so the chances of being seen from a brief firing of the thrusters at this range was negligible.
The transport continued to back away from Daiban as it was scanned the area to see if anyone was taking any interest in their sector of Daiban's solar system. Once they figured that they were clear, the Elite maneuvered the ship so that it was pointing away from Daiban. He then put his hand to a lever and pulled it downward. The ship then jumped to warp, leaving Daiban behind, for now.
Back down on the planet, Samus was making her way back to her gunship. As she was walking, two familiar faces appeared from behind a wall inside a restaurant to her right. Her eyes flashed as she saw two of her best friends, Kreatz and Mauk emerge and give large grins. Kreatz, a member of Elric's species with short, black hair, standing at about six feet tall and wearing a trench coat, leapt over the wall and rushed towards Samus. When he arrived, he gave her a massive hug. "You did it!" he exclaimed. "You're free! I knew you wouldn't be found guilty! Mauk wasn't so sure, but I knew."
Mauk gave a kind smile and a shrug towards Kreatz. His shrug, however, indicated to Samus that it was Kreatz that was not certain about the eventual outcome, rather than him. Samus smiled at the sight of her friends and she let Kreatz hug her for a few seconds before trying to gently disengage herself from him.
Once she was free of Kreatz's embrace, Kreatz told her, "We've been waiting for you. We still have a space open if you want a good meal before leaving in search of a new bounty."
"Thank you," Samus responded. "I think I'll take you up on your offer." Samus then ducked inside of the small restaurant to eat a meal with her two best friends.
The waiter soon came by and took their orders. Samus ordered cooked Grouper, a fish from Earth, along with a soda. Kreatz and Mauk got more exotic dishes that had originated from different planets, likely their own. After the waiter had taken their orders, Mauk looked over at Samus and asked, "So, have you been keeping up with the news?"
"I have," Samus responded in a melancholy tone. "All channels," she added. "It doesn't look good at all."
"It's likely worse than you know," Mauk told her. "Earth came this close to seceding from the Federation after the BSL Incident and the tribunal that was going to be held against you and Adam." He then pinched his fingers close together to the point where they were almost touching. "Mars, too. The only reason Earth did not secede is because a lot of people on the Council rightly told them that the evidence is very damning towards Chairman Elric and that you would not be found guilty of preventing a disaster." That last sentence was directed towards Samus. "Right now, all of Sol is watching carefully to see how things turn out."
"Why would Earth secede, though?" Kreatz asked. "They must know that Elric's about to be impeached and likely convicted given the mountain of evidence against him for the development of those bioweapons on the Bottle Ship and Research Facility 777."
"Elric will be impeached," Mauk stated flatly. "I have little doubt about that. However, a lot of officials don't want him to be since he'll likely expose their own dirty deeds and backroom deals in exchange for leniency from the other members of the Council. Elric has had his hands in a lot of pies, and he knows almost everything about the vast majority of the Council. Right now, a lot of Council Members are trying to get into Elric's good graces so that when he testifies, he won't expose their dirty laundry. In fact, the only reason he has little on Sol's representatives is the fact that Earth, Mars, and the colonies of Jupiter and Saturn have all but separated themselves entirely from the Federation and are seemingly the most honest of the politicians, as strange as it may seem. But there is another reason why Councilman Williams has waited this long to impeach Elric, and may still be hesitant to do so..."
"Cyrus Mann," Samus, answered for Mauk.
Mauk nodded. "Many on Earth believe that Cyrus had once been a criminal before becoming the Vice-Chairman of the Galactic Federation. They say that some on Earth even have direct evidence of this, but are being censored by Galactic Federation representatives on Earth. Some believe that he is using his position to do something on, or to, Earth, and that he has no real interest in the Galactic Federation in and of itself." Mauk sighed before adding, "Some have even said that Cyrus may have had a hand in the assassination of former Chairman Keaton."
"That I doubt," Kreatz blurted. "Cyrus may be many things, but I doubt that he would be able to pull off something like that. He just doesn't have the resources. He had no political power before becoming Vice-Chairman. In fact, he does not seem to have all that much history about him at all. In fact, there was a stretch of about a year or so where he had seemed to vanished entirely."
"I know," Mauk answered. "I don't think he helped Elric kill Keaton, but I do think that Earth believes he did. And that has many worried that, should something happen to Elric and Cyrus take over, there could be trouble."
With that thought, the others considered everything else that was happening in the Federation. So far, things were relatively quiet since the BSL Incident. There had not been any other Space Pirate attacks, though the search for the Space Pirates continued to this day. Samus then asked if anything else had been uncovered on planet Z-1A. The others shook their head. So far, they had only managed to uncover more details about the battle between the Chozo Alliance; an alliance of the Chozo, Luminoth, N'Kren, and Ylla, and a race known as the Magic Lords, or Dragon Lords as they were sometimes called. No other technology had been uncovered by subsequent digs. However, the archeologists were still searching to see if there were any more ruins. Samus also asked if there was any word on the search for Ridley. Both Kreatz and Mauk shook their heads.
It was not long before the meals arrived for the group. Once they had gotten the meals, Samus ate in silence as Kreatz and Mauk talked to each other about the orders that they had been given. They were discussing the fact that the Galactic Federation Police Force had been given a lot more power in recent months than they had originally had. Some in the Police Force were beginning to abuse their power, which had led to riots against some of the Police Force. Again, the new regulations regarding the new powers of the Police Force had not been implemented on Earth, though the Federation had yet to try to force Earth to implement the new policies. One thing Samus knew was that once the Federation went to try to force Earth to implement the news laws and give the Police Force their greater powers, and Earth resisted, then it could very well degenerate into a civil war. And there would be planets that sided with Earth, or at the very least declared neutrality in the conflict.
After a few minutes, Samus and the others finished their meals. After Kreatz and Mauk had paid the bill, refusing to let Samus pay any of it, despite her offer, the trio rose and departed the small restaurant. After they had left, Kreatz went over to Samus and told her, "Well, I'd better get going. I'm being ordered to Earth to help stem any potential insurrections on the planet. Some are saying that Earth may well secede from the Federation if it continues to try to jab its nose into Earth's business or something along those lines."
"I thought that Earth had the right to secede from the Federation if it had cause," Samus told him. She had been following the news and knew that Earth was dissatisfied with the Galactic Federation and had accused the Federation of turning away from what made it great. The people of Earth did not like that some of the liberties, such as the right to keep and bear arms, and even to peaceably assemble in certain circumstances, were being infringed upon by the Federation. While the motion had passed in the Council, the representatives of both Earth and Mars had rejected the motion and refused to implement it on their respective worlds. As a result, many citizens on Earth and Mars were arming themselves with multiple weapons, in case an emergency occurred. This had caused a great deal of friction between the Federation Council and the two planets, but the situation had not yet come to blows.
"Technically, they do," Mauk replied. "But still, the Federation wants to send a clear message of strength to the galaxy as well as the rest of its members. They want Earth to know that the Federation is stronger than a single world, regardless of its importance, and if they leave the Federation, they'll be on their own."
Kreatz gave a grin and said, "If all goes well, this will be an easy assignment. The people of Earth may be armed, but they are generally welcoming of visitors when said visitors are non-hostile. My only mission is to help keep the peace and protect the Federation envoy going to negotiate with Earth's government."
"And I'm going to be stationed on the G.F.S. Zeus over Earth to help provide security the Federation officers on the planet," Mauk added. Samus could not help but notice that their tones were a little different, as if there was something that they were not telling her, particularly Kreatz. She decided not to press them on it yet, and she told them, "Thank you for the meal, you two. It was wonderful seeing you again."
"Same here, Samus," Mauk answered as each of them went their separate ways. As Kreatz and Mauk proceeded down to the assembly area for Police Officers and military personnel that were about to be deployed away from Daiban, Samus continued to make her way down to the landing pad that contained her gunship. As she walked, her thoughts returned to her conversation with Kreatz and Mauk and made a note to herself to read up more thoroughly on Earth's situation and its troubles with the Galactic Federation. Samus felt that the Federation and Earth were closer to a war than many others realized. And if Earth and the rest of Sol rebelled, the subsequent rebellion would make the Horus Rebellion look like a small brushfire.
On the former Federation Space Lab Moreau, Ridley, a large, purple pterodactyl-like space dragon, stood on the Control Deck and waited for the report from the transport that he had dispatched to Daiban. Standing down on the lower level of the deck were over fifty Zebesian Space Pirate Troopers wearing red armor. These Zebesian Space Pirates had bird-like heads and claws over their arms. They were armed with power cannons and plasma missile launchers. For defense, they were equipped with deflector shield generators that rendered the standard assault rifle used by the Galactic Federation Army Troopers useless, though the pulse energy rifles used by Federation Marines were more than sufficient to penetrate their shields with only a couple hits. He thought back to the events of a couple of months ago on the BSL research station where a Space Pirate raiding party consisting of a couple dozen Zebesian Space Pirates that had originally been cloned and grown by the Galactic Federation forces on this station. These Pirates had been the lowest ranking of the Zebesian Troopers and had also shown themselves to be the least capable of the troopers, in Ridley's eyes. These Zebesians, however, were far different. These were some of the best Zebesian Troopers that he had seen of all save for some of the elite Ninja Zebesian Pirates that had protected his lair on Zebes.
Ridley then went down the stairs and headed down to examine the Zebesian Space Pirate Troopers himself. He walked among them and saw that their bodies were perfect and without blemish of any sort. He grinned. These Space Pirates were originally supposed to have been a Special Forces unit for the Galactic Federation. Under Ridley, they would help bring the Federation to its knees. They would attempt to assassinate the Federation Chairman, or at least make it look like they were going to assassinate the Chairman. Ridley had other plans.
Once he had finished examining the first squadron of troops, he stepped back and went onto the steps. He then spoke to them in a loud and clear voice, saying, "Elite Zebesian Troopers. You were designed for one purpose, and one purpose only. You have been created to be the best of the best for the Zebesian Space Pirates, as shown by your red armor. Now, my Super Zebesian Space Pirates, you will go on a mission of utmost importance. This is going to be a highly dangerous mission. Many of you will likely not return. In fact, chances are that none of you will do so. Your mission is to kill the Chairman of the Galactic Federation, and as many of the Council members as possible before you, yourselves, are killed. This will not be easy. You will infiltrate Galactic Federation Headquarters by drop pods deployed from the cloaked troop transport we have recently 'acquired', the Putze. From there, your mission is to kill anyone you encounter that isn't Space Pirate. Aside from the Chairman and potentially the Vice-Chairman, your primary targets are the human members of the Federation Council, particularly Earth's representative. Are there any questions?"
"What about the Hunter?" asked one of the Zebesians in the back row. "Are we to target her as well if she is still on Daiban?"
"Our spies indicate that she should not still be on Daiban by the time the attack is launched," Ridley answered. "And if she is, avoid contact with her at all costs until your primary objective is completed."
"But what if we have a shot at her?" another of the Zebesians asked.
"Then take it, but make certain that the shot is clear. You would only get one shot at her, and if you fail to take her out with that shot, she will kill you. Remember, you're outfitted to deal with Galactic Federation Army Troopers, not Samus. Don't take foolish risks on this mission. It may likely be a suicide mission, but it's going to be a mission where you still have your objectives. Killing may be the primary mission, but it's who you kill that is important, here."
"Understood," the others responded.
Ridley grinned and then made his way back up the stairs to the top deck. As he was moving up, a beep sounded and a light flashed on the communications and sensor consoles. A Space Pirate Trooper checked the console and upon reading the data, reported back to Ridley, saying, "Lord Ridley, I'm picking up something on sensors." After a pause, he called, "It's the transport. They've completed their mission and are sending us the data they've acquired."
After a few moments, the data appeared on the screens and Ridley examined it. He then told the trooper, "Transmit this data to the Putze. Make sure that all of the squad commanders get all of this data as well."
"Yes, Lord Ridley," the trooper responded and went about carrying out Ridley's orders.
Ridley then proceeded to leave the bridge and went over into his ready room. Once inside, he noticed a squadron of twelve Pirate Commandos waiting for him. He then told them, "The data has been sent. We've received not only the data with regard to Daiban's defenses, but also the data as to where Aurora Unit One is located. As you know, Aurora Unit One was the first Aurora Unit created by the Galactic Federation. Its DNA is the closest to the DNA of the original Mother Brain. In addition, it is also linked with each and every one of the other Aurora Units within the inner Galactic Federation colony worlds. The only main Federation world whose Aurora Units will not be affected is Earth, and that is because they used a different source of DNA for their few Aurora Units than Mother Brain, in addition to their Units being a little more mechanical than the others. That is besides the point, though." He then went over to a large desk and took out a small vial. "This vial contains a biological virus that also contains information that would allow our us to control Aurora Unit Zero from this station. You must inject it into Aurora Unit Zero directly. Also, get a sample of Aurora Unit Zero's DNA. We will then clone Aurora Unit Zero and use it to control other Aurora Units within the Galactic Federation. With our cloned Aurora Unit based upon Aurora Unit Zero, we should able to control almost all of the inner colonies' Aurora Units, as well as get the control codes for all of the Aurora Units as well should the Federation discover what we have done. With that control, we can send false orders to Galactic Federation starships and Marine units, which will grant us good opportunities to capture some Federation starships or raid various shipyards for some more starships, or, for Daiban, have Aurora Unit Zero destabilize the planet's core to the point where the planet could even explode. With Daiban destroyed, and many of the Federation Council Members dead, the Federation will be thrown into complete chaos." He then handed the vial to the leader of the Commandos.
"Understood, Lord Ridley," the leader of the Commandos said, taking the vial and saluting the dragon.
"It is also imperative that you get enough DNA for us to clone two Aurora Units based upon Aurora Unit Zero, for Aurora Unit Zero is a direct genetic clone of Mother Brain. We also intend to revive her, along with a number of other lost generals as well, which will require the assistance of Mother Brain, and a planet that we can settle for the time being."
"We understand," the Commando leader responded.
"You will be using a cloak capable transport to get yourselves down as close as you can to Aurora Unit One," Ridley explained. "I must reiterate; your one and only mission is to plant this virus inside of Aurora Unit One. Don't stop to kill anyone or have fun unless you need to in order to proceed uncontested, and unseen. I'll be coordinating the assault forces here, but the assassination attempt on Chairman Elric and the members of the Galactic Federation Council should divert all of the Federation's defenses away from Aurora Unit Zero, so hopefully you will only meet minimal resistance. Don't do anything that draws attention to yourselves until it's too late."
"Understood, Lord Ridley. When do we leave?" the lead Commando asked.
"Right now." Ridley answered. With that, the Pirate Commandos left Ridley's ready room. Ridley then followed suit and went back onto the Control Deck of the station so he could coordinate the joint assaults on Daiban.
Meanwhile, on planet Earth, Cyrus stood on the top of a mountaintop among a series tall stone pillars in the Sinnoh Region of Japan. He gazed at the pillars in awe. He was flanked by Charon and two Federation Police Officers. Charon looked over at him and said, "It's been a while since you were here, hasn't it, Cyrus."
Cyrus nodded. "Yes, it has. But soon, I'll be able to open a portal to the Distortion World once more. I will finally break its secrets and use it to create my ultimate universe: a universe without pain, suffering, or emotion. It won't be long, now. With Ridley about to launch his attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters, as well as infect Aurora Unit Zero with the virus developed on Research Facility Moreau, all will be in order. Many members of the Galactic Federation Council will die, with Elric filling in the vacant spots due to the damage done. He will escape any impeachment hearing and will declare martial law before anyone can organize a faction of the Council against him, even if Councilman Williams survives. From there, he'll start rounding up those who know of his sordid past, imprisoning them so that they can't testify against him. And with his people in power, there will be no one to officially contest him. He will then consolidate the Council's power to himself and make an Empire, with likely the sole source of resistance being Earth, and possibly the rest of Sol. From there, the Police and military will start abusing their newfound powers and anyone who does not tow the line will die. That will rally the cry against Elric and civil war will begin. Then, the Dark Original One will have no choice but to listen to the cries of a universe in anguish and fulfill my wishes."
"How do you intend to keep the others away from the Spear Pillar in the intervening months?" Charon asked. "Sinnoh Pokémon League Champion Cynthia and others are aware of your identity and know that you were the leader of Team Galactic. They'll suspect that something is up."
"That's where the Federation will come in," Cyrus explained with a grin. "Elric will use the attack on Aurora Unit Zero and the attempted assassination of Elric to justify declaring martial law across the entire Galactic Federation, including Earth. I will then tell Elric to leave Earth in my hands while he deals with the rest of the Federation. I'll then have the Federation Police Forces on Earth round up Cynthia and the other Pokémon League Champions, as well as the others who know my secret and incarcerate them, if not kill them outright."
"But Cynthia and the others won't come along quietly," Charon told him. "What happens if they manage to evade their capture attempts? They all know that you're the Galactic Federation's Vice-Chairman, as well as the former leader of Team Galactic."
"And there is little that they will be able to do to stop me once the Federation is in chaos," Cyrus replied. "I'll have the authority of the entire Galactic Federation behind me on this one."
"And what if the military or Police Forces don't go along with this? Or worse, what if the Space Pirates actually are successful in killing Elric?" Charon asked.
"Heh, heh, heh," Cyrus chuckled. "Elric has done all the work for me. He has placed all of his allies in places of power. The losses of Chamolos, Drayka, and Eiden were devastating to his efforts in the government, but his allies in the military will still rally to my call, especially should Elric fall in the attack. After all, I know all of their dark secrets." And with that, Cyrus continued to watch as more Federation Army Troopers came through the entrance to the cave and arrived to secure Spear Pillar. He had it now. All he had to do was wait until the anguish was unbearable in the galaxy to call upon the one who would grant him his greatest desire, his own universe.
A few thousand kilometers away from Daiban, two Space Pirate vessels emerged from warp and immediately cloaked, one a light troop transport that was designed to carry only a thousand or so troopers, another a small transport only capable of carrying a few dozen soldiers, and was not much larger than a gunship. The larger transport, the Putze, was carrying hundreds of Super Zebesian soldiers, though. Both ships captains hoped that their stealth systems would shield them from being detected before the cloak. They both examined the fleet movements and scanned to see if the defense platforms were locking onto them. So far, none of the defenses of Daiban appeared to have shown any signs of having detected the two cloaked Pirate vessels. Upon seeing that they were not, they slowly made their way towards the planet, and their two destinations, their occupants knowing that they were going to die, but that their deaths would strike a crippling, if not fatal, blow to the Galactic Federation.